ELAN Archive
Message From the Honorary Chair
Guy Rodgers
I'm sure many of you who have agreed to be delegates at the Quebec Arts Summit are asking yourself questions. Do I need more meetings? What do they expect me to contribute? What can I realistically expect to get out of this?
You have been invited because your peers have identified you as someone with ideas, energy and a track record of making things happen. The number of delegates is small enough to ensure that every voice is heard yet large enough to be representative of the entire artistic community (15—20 people in each of the sectors of: literature/publishing, theatre, film/television, music, dance, and visual arts.) We have also tried to ensure fair representation of the regions.
You will be invited to contribute in three ways.
- In sketching a portrait of the English-speaking arts community today. What are we doing? What is working? What are the problems and opportunities?
- Drawing up a five-year plan of where we would like to go and the help we need to get there.
- Selecting a group of artists to formally represent each sector. These reps will be key links in a development / lobbying network.
What can you expect to get out of it? At the very least the Summit will create a network of artists and arts groups that can share ideas and opportunities. We will also meet dozens of key partners from the community (education, media and presenters/producers) and government who can become future allies. In a best-case scenario, this is an opportunity to break outside individual survival-mode thinking and identify some major innovations that can benefit our entire community.
The enclosed documentation will give you an idea of how the Quebec Arts Summit has been structured, and who will be involved. If you have any questions or suggestions, please call Lori Schubert at the QWF (514 933-0878) offices or call me directly. On behalf of the organizers of the Quebec Arts Summit, thank you for agreeing to participate. We can't promise an earth-shaking, history-making event, but we can guarantee you will be part of a network of unprecedented potential.
Guy Rodgers